In order to support the Federal Government in bolstering human capital through improved health for women, children, and adolescents and constructing resilience to the effects of climate change, such as floods and droughts through improved irrigation and dam safety, the World Bank has approved three operations totaling $1.57 billion.
The additional funding comprises $570 million for the Primary Healthcare Provision Strengthening Program (HOPE-PHC), $500 million for the Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria Project (SPIN), and $500 million for tackling governance concerns that impede the delivery of health and education (HOPE-GOV).
The FG will receive assistance from the HOPE-GOV and HOPE-PHC programs in enhancing the provision of primary healthcare and basic education services, all of which are essential to enhancing Nigeria’s human capital outcomes.
In some parts of Nigeria, the SPIN project will assist in enhancing the security of dams and the administration of water resources for irrigation and electricity.
The HOPE-GOV Program will address fundamental governance flaws in two important areas of human development by improving government processes and systems. It will pay special attention to important intersectoral issues and supportive variables pertaining to the financial and human resource management of the basic education and primary healthcare sectors.
The Program will improve the accessibility and efficiency of funding for the provision of primary healthcare and basic education services, as well as the accountability and transparency of such funding. It will also help local, state, and federal governments recruit, assign, and manage the performance of primary healthcare and basic education teachers.
The apex bank stated that the HOPE-PHC project, funded by the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, will enhance the quality and utilization of core reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health and nutrition services to significantly lower maternal and under-five mortality and to strengthen the resilience of the health system, thereby benefiting 40 million people, particularly vulnerable populations. This is in support of FG’s recently announced health sector reforms.
A $500 million International Development Association (IDA) concessional credit and an extra $70 million in grant financing from the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children, and Adolescents (GFF) are used to fund the project.
In addition to supporting government efforts to ensure sustainable financing for family planning commodities, the GFF support includes $11 million from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and $12.5 million from the Children’s Investment Foundation Fund (CIFF) through joint financing with the GFF. This helps close the financing gap for primary and community healthcare as well as maternal and newborn care at the hospital level.
The SPIN Program will improve dam safety and operations to help Nigeria safeguard its inhabitants against drought and flooding. Over 40,000 hectares, the project will additionally assist in the provision of new and enhanced drainage and irrigation services.
Up to 950,000 people, including households, farmers, and livestock breeders, will directly benefit from enhanced irrigation water management leading to increased agricultural production and a more dependable, climate-resilient, and efficient irrigation and water supply.
The government will create a hydropower project master plan and a structured public-private partnership transaction through the SPIN project.
“Effective investment in the health and education of Nigerians today is central to increasing their future employment opportunities, productivity, and earnings, while reducing poverty of the most vulnerable. This new financing for human capital and primary healthcare will help to address the complex difficulties faced by Nigerians especially women and girls around access and quality of services, but also the governance arrangements that also explain these difficulties” said Dr. Ndiamé Diop, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria.
“The SPIN program is timely and will protect Nigerians from floods and droughts in the areas where it will be implemented, while enabling an increase in hydropower generation. The direct positive impact of this project on people and livelihoods is enormous, The World Bank is pleased to work with the government and other stakeholders to deliver this program,” Diop added.
